The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in partnership with ecoAmerica and Second Nature, is promoting a national effort to address climate change known as the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. It is a statement to be signed by college and university presidents that commits the college to taking steps to move towards carbon neutrality. It seeks to address the college's impact on the climate by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in campus operations, and integrating sustainability into the curriculum.
We, the undersigned faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of Brevard College hereby call on Brevard College to take immediate steps towards the mitigation of global climate change.
We accept that Brevard College should help lead society through innovation, world-class teaching, and effective problem-solving. We are proud of what this institution is capable of doing in terms of teaching and outreach. We also acknowledge that the Brevard College Mission Statement endorses environmental stewardship which should include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the levels agreed upon in the Kyoto Protocol. For these efforts, we are proud of this institution and recognize its important leadership role in tackling society's problems. It is now widely understood that society must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% as soon as possible to avoid unprecedented climate changes and prevent millions, if not billions, of people from suffering the worst effects of our changing climate.
Therefore, we request that Brevard College President Drew Van Horn take a leadership position and sign the American College & University President's Climate Commitment. It is this sort of college-wide commitment that is necessary for Brevard College to be a leader in western North carolina by addressing such an all-important issue.
